Los Angeles County industrial waste site will pay federal fines in Superfund case

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Federal officials say polluting companies at a former landfill in Los Angeles County will pay $17 million to clean up toxic waste.

The site in Monterey Park belonged to Operating Industries Incorporated. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has been investigating who used it and what they dumped there.

In this piece of the settlement, federal officials went after 275 companies that sent hazardous waste to the dump between the 1940s and the 1980s. So far, 1,100 companies have paid $600 million toward cleanup in Monterey Park.

EPA designated the 190-acre property a Superfund site 25 years ago. Over time, the waste has polluted air, leached into groundwater and created fire hazards near the people who live there.

Since the 1990s, federal and local authorities have capped parcels of land with clay to keep gases in and rainwater out. They’ve also planted native grasses on top of the clay to help the landfill site blend in with surrounding areas.

Work continues on the northern part of the landfill site, where the Cascades Market Place will sit on remediated land along the Pomona Freeway.